Air India Express Flight Cancelled After Eagle Strike During Takeoff

In the liminal moment between ground and sky, a single eagle brought a flight to a halt at Vijayawada airport on Thursday, reminding us that the natural world does not pause for departure schedules. An Air India Express aircraft bound for Bengaluru was struck on the nose during taxiing, grounding the flight before it ever became airborne and leaving ninety passengers to reckon with the fragility of modern travel. The incident is neither rare nor fully preventable — it is one of aviation's oldest tensions, the coexistence of human infrastructure and wild creatures who recognize no runway.